The French Parliament on Wednesday adopted a surveillance bill that would give French intelligence services the authority to monitor Internet use metadata. It is reported that the bill also allows for court ordered surveillance of suspects homes and cars utilizing beacons and tracking devices. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has commented on the new law [...]

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Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed two bills Wednesday loosening Wisconsin’s gun laws. The bills, to take effect on Friday, eliminate Wisconsin’s 48-hour waiting period for purchasing a handgun and allow off duty, retired and out-of-state police officers to carry firearms on school grounds. Both the content and timing of the bills have been criticized , [...]

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The Australian parliament on Monday passed the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015 to prevent the online piracy of film and TV shows. The approved legislation gives rights holders the chance to go to a federal judge and get overseas websites that have the “primary purpose” of creating copyright infringement issues blocked. Australian internet providers [...]

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Human rights groups Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday issued a joint letter to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) calling for the creation of a special prosecutor to investigate claims that Central Intelligence Agency agents used torture against detainees held at Guantanamo Bay prison and elsewhere. The [...]

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London’s Metropolitan Police announced Tuesday that it has arrested Rwanda National Intelligence and Security Services head Karenzi Karake on an international warrant for war crimes. The European Arrest Warrant was issued in 2008 by Spanish High Court Judge Fernando Andreu for Karake’s alleged role in the 1997 killings of three Spanish aid workers. The Rwandan [...]

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China’s anti-corruption Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Tuesday announced the launch of investigations into 26 government agencies and state-owned-enterprises (SOEs). The entities to be investigated include People’s Daily Newspaper , Anshan Iron and Steel, conglomerate China Resources, the Ministry of Transport and National Railway Administration. In the announcement , the CCDI said the [...]

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UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein announced Tuesday the opening of a UN office to specifically monitor human rights in North Korea (DPRK). The UN Human Rights Office (Seoul) will be located in Seoul, South Korea. It is tasked with outreach, technical cooperation with member states, monitoring human rights violations, and [...]

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